NFL Player News

Cowboys backup running backs Joseph Randle and Lance Dunbar were more than bit players in the Week 6 win at Seattle. Randle carried five times for 52 yards (10.4 ypc) while Dunbar caught all four of his targets for 48 yards.

Dunbar also rushed once for minus-4 yards. They'll take on the Giants in Week 7.

Justin Forsett was once again the most effective of the Ravens running backs in what seemed to become less of a timeshare Week 6 at Tampa Bay. No, he didn't lead the trio in touches -- Bernard Pierce did -- but he did the most with his, picking up 111 yards on 14 carries.

And Pierce may not have had so many touches if the Ravens didn't put the game away with four touchdowns in the first quarter. Of Pierce's 15 carries, nine came in the second half. Of Forsett's 14, only four did.

Though Pierce found the end zone on a 4-yard run in the third quarter, he ran for just 32 yards in all and is now averaging 3.7 yards per carry this season compared to Forsett's 6.4.

Lorenzo Taliaferro, if you're wondering, was a complete afterthought by comparison, rushing twice for 29 yards and catching two passes for 18. If Forsett is the go-to guy and Pierce is the run-out-the-clock guy, Taliaferro's role may be the kind that doesn't add up to anything in Fantasy.

Clearly, Forsett is must-own in Fantasy, but other than having Pierce as a handcuff option, I'm running out of reasons to stash either of the Ravens' other two running backs.

Raiders running back Darren McFadden had somewhat of a vintage performance in a Week 6 defeat to the Chargers on Sunday.

McFadden got the start and had three runs of 10-plus yards, including a 17-yard run late in the third quarter for his longest gain of the day. He took 14 handoffs for a season-high 80 yards, averaging 5.7 yards per carry.He was thrown to four times and finished with two catches for 6 yards in a 31-28 defeat. He has 231 rushing yards on the year.

The Raiders will host the Cardinals in Week 7.

Chargers running back Branden Oliver put together an impressive performance in his first career start on Sunday, scoring and cracking the century mark in a Week 6 win at Oakland.

Oliver barreled into the end zone from 1-yard out with 1:08 remaining for the go-ahead touchdown. He took 26 handoffs for 101 yards and a score on the ground, averaging 3.9 yards per attempt. He was thrown to five times and finished with four catches for 23 yards in a 31-28 victory.

Oliver could get the bulk of the load if Donald Brown and Ryan Mathews aren't ready to return in Week 7 at home against the Chiefs.

It looks bad -- Chris Johnson's 200 rush yards and 40 receiving yards through six weeks are nasty. No one thought he could have been as bad as he was last season through six games but he's done it -- Johnson had 327 rush yards and 96 receiving yards in 2013. 

Owners of CJ2k ... or is it CJ1k ... or CJ0k ... whatever it is ... they're probably about ready to cut him. And why not?! But there's one thing Johnson has done in each of his last three seasons and that's put up nice numbers in his last 10 or so games. He averaged around 7.0 Fantasy points per game in a standard league over his first six games on a per-year basis but came up with over 12.0 Fantasy points per game in his last 10. 

No one will buy into Chris Johnson unless you're dealing him for complete garbage. So maybe the answer is to hang on to him for a couple more weeks and see what happens and if he breaks out like he has the past three seasons. And if you see Johnson on waivers, pick him up and give him a stash for a couple of weeks. 

The Jets play the Patriots on a short week for Week 7 then take on the Bills, Chiefs and Steelers before a Week 11 bye, plus he takes on his old team in Week 15. There are a couple of good matchups in there for Johnson. 

Wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders and running back Juwan Thompson matched yardage totals in leading a contributing contingent of Broncos to their Sunday win over the Jets.

Sanders caught three passes for 38 yards while Thompson rushed eight times for the same number. The latter added a reception that went nowhere.

Denver continues its season against visiting San Francisco next Sunday.

The Broncos got a great game out of Ronnie Hillman at the Jets in Week 6, giving him 27 total touches. Juwan Thompson had eight carries in the game for 38 yards along with a catch for no yards while C.J. Anderson was active but didn't get any touches. 

For now it looks like Hillman will be the top back in the Broncos offense. The leash could remain short with him -- he had a fumble that was recovered by a teammate in the game. Thompson and Anderson could end up getting work if Hillman falters. But that's not exactly the best reason to carry either back in Fantasy moving forward. Thompson seems to have more appeal than Anderson at this point. 

Buccaneers running back Bobby Rainey received limited work Week 6.

Rainey had only seven carries for 42 yards. While he performed well when running the ball, the Bucs had to abandon the run game early. By halftime, the team was down 35-0. Rainey was targeted three times in the passing game, but failed to come up with a catch. Rainey is on a bye Week 7.

Buccaneers running back Doug Martin didn't do much Week 6.

The Bucs fell behind 35-0 in the first half, meaning the team had to go away from the run game. Martin wasn't all that bad when he got work, gaining 45 yards on 11 carries. He also caught one pass for 3 yards. The team didn't run many running back passes during the game, so Martin didn't do all that much in the second half.

The Bucs are on a bye Week 7.

The Jets backfield could not exactly be called a three-headed monster after their performance Sunday against the Broncos - though their production could be called monstrous.

Chris Ivory, Chris Johnson and Bilal Powell combined for just 20 yards rushing on 13 carries. Ivory, who had been performing well recently, was mired at minus-1 yard after five attempts and finished with seven yards on eight rushes. He did snag a pass for 14 yards while Johnson added a reception for two yards.